Hudson's Bay Co. chairman considers raising offer for retailer

Hudson's Bay Co. chairman Richard Baker and his partners have approached the company's minority shareholders about raising the offer to take the company private. Baker has suggested the idea of raising the offer to 11 dollars a share up from 10 dollars and 30 cents a share. Collectively, Baker and his group own 57 percent of Hudson's Bay Co., but they need a majority of the minority stakeholders to go through with this deal.

Catalyst Capital Group is one of the main minority shareholders that would have to get on board with this plan, but there's yet to be a substantive conversation between Baker and his allies and Catalyst. Catalyst is very concerned about any transaction that could take place because of issues raised by the Ontario Securities Commission about the bid.

Catalyst is a 17.5 percent stakeholder in Hudson's Bay Co., which amounts to 32 percent of the minority shareholder vote. Catalyst has said that one of their issues with the deal is that they feel it severely undervalues Hudson's Bay Co.'s real estate and doesn't provide enough disclosure to shareholders. Catalyst will be the biggest hurdle in Baker and his allies getting their plan approved. Shares in Hudson’s Bay rose as much as 24 per cent on Tuesday after news of the potential deal.